Chicago Cubs Need to Play Hardball with Alfonso Soriano

Ryan Dempster held the Chicago Cubs hostage until the trade deadline before agreeing to a deal with the Texas Rangers. Alfonso Soriano is now exercising that same power, and it's time Cubs management put an end to this nonsense.

Before the trade deadline, Soriano confirmed in Gordon Wittenmyer's column in the Chicago SunTimes he used his "10 and 5" rights to reject a move to the San Francisco Giants.

He mentioned the only team he said yes to was the Los Angeles Dodgers. Speaking of the Cubs, he said, "I like it here; life is good."

Why wouldn't he? He has no pressure to produce, and the manager, Dale Sveum, who was critical of the lack of effort he noticed from Cubs players last year while coaching in Milwaukee, is suddenly a convert.

It's time for the Cubs to quit coddling Soriano. They need to call him into the office and tell him the facts of life: "We're going young and you are no longer in our plans. You can either accept a trade to another team, or you will be watching the rest of the season from the bench. It's your choice."

The one and only thing Soriano seems to care about is playing every day. Perhaps sending him to his room and taking away the TV is how you have to deal with this "spoiled child."

You can't ask him to accept a trade because he will just reject it. He has said in the past that he wants to win and have a chance to play for a championship—but his actions show that was just rhetoric.

He's also mentioned wanting to teach the young players on the team how the game should be played.

That's a problem!

The last thing I want is for him to be a role model. He supposedly took Starlin Castro under his wing when he arrived. Now you see a lackadaisical player whose head is often not in the game.

I see the future (Anthony Rizzo) standing at home plate, admiring a ball that barely reaches the bleachers. Who do you think he learned that from?

The Cubs have to get rid of him at all costs.

The Cubs will have to pay most of what's left on his contract, but that's money well spent. If you can salvage a prospect or two out of it—even better.

In Phil Roger's column in the Chicago Tribune Thursday, Rogers said, "He is surprisingly content on a losing team."

There's nothing surprising about that. Soriano is not about winning—he's about the money. He doesn't care about helping the Cubs or anybody but himself.

He pulled the wool over everyone's eyes with his nice guy act—but inside—he's a selfish diva.

It's time to quit playing nice. Soriano has been the poster boy for everything that is wrong with the Cubs' organization.